Shaggy was impressed. Cog had really been churning out his robots. Dozens of Bladelings were charging down the streets. Odd triangular-shaped arms held up, ready to thrust them into anyone or anything stupid enough to get close. Luckily, small arms fire seemed to hurt them way more than their Omega brothers. The gunfire coming from not only their bar but also from a few surrounding neighborhoods were dropping the things by the score.
There were even a few flyers in the sky now, doing battle with the Cat-bots. With the Omegas no longer falling from the sky, it was probably safer to fly around. Shaggy couldn’t help but grin. An oncoming horde of robots. Superior firepower from a defensive position. Air superiority. This was going to be a cakewalk. At least he thought so. Then one of the flying NPCs in the air opened fire with twin energy beams right on their bar.
Shaggy could do nothing but growl as the bastard laughed and drew his arms back for another blast. But a green energy beam from a now-completed second-floor window shut him up… forever. Other fliers hovered nearby, firing down on the robot horde. Shaggy was sure they were gauging the pros and cons of making a run on the bar. He wasn’t sure why they would target it, other than it being one of the largest structures in the neighborhood.
He shook off the thought as the charging horde started getting closer. Shaggy and the few other melee fighters in their crew were eagerly waiting for the first of the robots to get through the bars’ gunfire. While they waited, Ren and Tinsel were helping to move the robot bodies near the bar. More mats for Vlad to work with. Shaggy grew his claws and waited.
He could feel himself getting more and more excited as the horde of robots grew closer. It was all he could do to stop himself from howling. He felt alive; he felt like he could feel the thrum of everything around him. The smell of gun smoke, blood and metal filled the air and almost choked his nostrils. Shaggy glanced around at his new pack and saw that they also were shifting their feet excitedly, each with a feral grin on their faces. Although Tom’s grin just looked creepy.
Rita smiled back at him as Shaggy felt his excitement spike. That’s when he realized he could feel the others. Not their raw emotions, but almost their mental state. They were all excited, and it was feeding into himself and the others. He could also tell vaguely where they were standing around him. Shaggy was pondering the ramifications of such a connection when Sybil howled and all reason left him.
The blonde woman’s howl barely rose above the sound of bullets and metal clanking. But to Shaggy, it sounded like the clarion call to battle and he had to answer it. As all six of them bolted forward, instinct told them that the north-side of the bar would be the safest place to hunt, as the front of the bar had fewer windows. So less chance of crossfire. Shaggy thought he heard someone shouting for him, but he ignored it as he hunched into a loping run and aimed straight at a group of oncoming Bladelings.
He knew Rita was on his right and Cekrass was to his left, so he dove at the left leg of an oncoming thin robot. Shaggy’s claws sliced right through the knee joint and the robot tilted. He gave it a shove in Rita’s direction, who had already swung her sword. Metal met metal as the Bladeling was quickly decapitated. Shaggy felt Cekrass grab the sword of a robot that had thrust at Shaggy’s back. He instinctively ducked as the large lizard-man left the robot up by its arm and torso and spun it around. Cekrass threw the bot into the air and Vick shot the thing as it soared into the air.
Nearby Sybil was dual-wielding pistols and ducking the blade-arms of the bots. Tom appeared over her head and batted the swords away with a silver club that had come from the Professor’s crate. Shaggy threw himself over both of them, claws extended, and smashed into two Bladelings. He felt a third sword graze his chest. But Sybil’s pistols tore into the robot before he even finished the swipe. Shaggy felt the wound heal and dove back into the melee.
The six of them were a machine. Shaggy could feel where each of his pack members were and how best to help them. It also seemed liked whatever bonuses his Lackeys were getting made them a lot stronger in general. They weren’t quite at player-level, but they were a far cry from the standard Lackey. Shaggy grinned as he cut through the legs of several charging Bladelings. Sybil and Vick opened fire on the falling robots as Cekrass used a third robot’s body to defend Rita.
Shaggy didn’t know how long they were at it. Time seemed to lose all meaning as he ducked and slashed anything made of metal that came near him. Noise filled his ears as he fought and he swore he could feel the blood surging through his body as he stopped thinking entirely and just kept cutting and slashing robots. Soon, however, he felt a tug on his pack-link. Sybil and Rita were flagging, their stamina was about to give out. It wouldn’t hurt them for now, but the pack needed to rest. Without thinking, Shaggy tilted his head back and gave a brief howl.
“AWOOOO!”
As one, he felt his pack mates pull themselves from the piles of metal they had created. Something in Shaggy’s mind noted that Home was a little further south. So he turned his pack that way and the six of them ran full pelt back to the bar. The sound of gunfire picked back up as they approached, and some primal instinct made Shaggy want to shift into his wolf and defend his pack. But he soon realized that the gunshots were for the robots following him.
The six of them came to a full stop right in front of the bar and whatever haze had been over Shaggy’s mind lifted. Aches and pains screamed through his body as Sybil, Tom, and Vick collapsed near the bar’s north wall. Shaggy shook his head as Cekrass lent Rita a shoulder nearby. He looked around and saw Ren looking at him worriedly.
“Ghkk-” Shaggy tried to tell his friend he was fine but his throat was too dry.
Ren looked even more worried as some Lackeys came out of the bar’s front door and helped the other members of his pack inside. Shaggy grunted gratefully before he stumbled after them. Ren put a steadying arm on Shaggy’s shoulder as he leaned in.
“Yeah, we are going to talk about what the hell that just was.”
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Shaggy made the ‘ok’ signal with his fingers and staggered his way into the bar. He glanced around as the sound of gunfire stilled permeated the bar. Apparently, no matter how many they killed, more bots were still outside. Although Shaggy was sure they had slaughtered a lot of the things. Rita and the others were all seated around a table. A Jug of water in the center.
Shaggy slowly walked over and fell into an open chair. He tried to say something, but his throat felt like it was full of rocks. Vick pushed an empty glass at him and Shaggy nodded in thanks. After a quick sip of water, Shaggy gave a growl-like sigh and looked at his pack. Sybil was half-in, half-out of her chair. Vick was staring at the bar’s ceiling listlessly. Rita was checking her pulse on her wrists. Cekrass was sitting up straight, eyes closed and arms crossed, breathing rapidly through his nose. Tom had his head down on the table and Shaggy was sure the man was asleep.
“Well,” Shaggy coughed as he took another sip of water. “That was a thing.”
Sybil gave a grunt that sounded like a laugh as Rita and Vick stared at him. Shaggy gave them a thin-lipped smile and a shrug as he chuckled. Soon Cekrass’ deep laugh joined, followed by Sybil, Vick and Rita. Soon all five of them were laughing at the table so hard, the other NPCs started to stare. Shaggy ignored them as his pack laughed off the rest of their adrenaline.
“Next time, boss. Let’s try not to do whatever the hell that was, okay?” Vick asked as they finished laughing. Rita and Sybil nodded in agreement.
“Agreed.” Shaggy said as he scratched the back of his head. “Although I think Sybil started it.”
The thin blonde woman flipped him the bird, but nodded her head. “Yeah, pretty sure that was me. I don’t know what came over me. It was like I… I saw an enemy and I wanted to kill it, y’know? To hunt it down. That feeling just grew and grew until…”
She trailed off as the others nodded. Vick let out a laugh a few seconds later as he thrust his jaw at Sybil. “You howled. Haha!”
Sybil went red in the face as she laughed again. “I did. I fucking did. Weirdest shit I’ve ever done before a fight.”
“Not me.” Rita grinned as she checked her silver sword for damage.
“It was good.” Cekrass’ deep voice rumbled. “It felt good. Felt like we were a unit. Like we are connected.”
The big lizard stumbled over his words a few times as he tried to articulate his thoughts. But Shaggy and the others seemed to get it.
“Like we were a pack.”
The others all nodded at Shaggy’s statement. He could still feel their connection humming away in the background of his mind. It wasn’t as bad as it had been. But he worried what would happen if they stepped back outside. Something must have shown on his face or the pack link went both ways, because Rita snapped her head up and glared at him.
“I don’t think I’m going back out there, boss.”
Shaggy nodded in agreement and tiredly lifted his arms. “I get it. But we still gotta help with the defense. So maybe help in here for now.”
Gunshots kept going off and Shaggy worried about their ammo again. He wasn’t sure how much the Needle Sister had brought. But he sure hope it lasted. He also spotted a few of the Needle Sisters standing near open windows, throwing their various powers at the incoming robots. He wondered how long they could go for too. This was a war of attrition and they were the ones with exhaustible resources.
Shaggy was beginning to worry about the civilians in their bar when he noticed they were all gone. The bar’s dance floor was pretty empty, except for a few injured Lackeys resting and recuperating. He looked around, but beside for the Lackeys and a few civilians who had picked up guns and were defending the place. It was pretty empty. Then he realized the bar’s construction was complete.
The whirling mass of rapidly moving builders was gone. Now, the bar was in its full, two-story, bronze-metal and wood glory. The open second story had people running up and down its walkways, running ammo and new guns to various windows. Metal pillars held up the second-story rooms and the wooden staircase now had a bronze banister following it up. Shaggy grinned as he looked around.
“Enjoy it. Shit cost us a lot of money.” Vlad’s voice said from nearby.
Shaggy turned and saw his pale friend walking over. Leslie grinning at his side. The vampire player was holding an assault rifle and smiling smugly at them. Shaggy grimaced at the probable cost, but he nodded in appreciation at his friend.
“Figures. But we can steal more. Not like we’ll be out of materials anytime soon.”
Vlad nodded. “Not the way you and your Lackeys went to town on the north-side. What the fuck was that about? Ren said you all went into a frenzy and tore up some bots.”
“Understatement.” Sybil grinned.
Shaggy nodded and pointed at his pack. “Yeah, I’ll explain fully after we get through this. But for now, how can they help inside? I don’t think they are up for another trip outside.”
Vlad nodded, but the others at Shaggy’s table got startled looks on their faces. Rita was the first to ask.
“You’re not going back out there, are ya, boss?”
Shaggy grinned and nodded. He put up a hand to forestall any complaints from his new pack. “I’ll be fine. Without you guys, the frenzy might not take me again.”
“Might not?” Vick asked, raising an eyebrow.
Shaggy shrugged and made to stand up. The others tried to follow, but Sybil and Vick didn’t make it out of their chairs. Rita was using hers to help her stand and Cekrass had fallen to the floor, drawing more stares. Tom stayed blissfully asleep throughout. Shaggy waved them all off again and turned to Vlad.
“Get them some guns and some chairs. Vick and Sybil are my best shots. So maybe put them on the second floor. On whichever side is heaviest.”
“Actually, we aren’t doing too bad. Most of our problems are coming from the east. South is well defended by the Raks and the west has got the UGB and Phreaks doing their thing. The fliers have become a bit of an issue, but a few blasts with our heavy guns and they take off.”
“Or fall out of the sky dead for their trouble.” Grinned Leslie.
The tall biker lady’s hands sparked with electricity as she smiled. Shaggy figured she had fried a few of the dumbest fliers. He took in what Vlad had said and asked about the remaining side.
“What about north? Did we make that much of a dent?”
Vlad snorted. “Pfft. Don’t get me wrong, the six of you tore a hole in the bots, but mostly the Brute Clan seems to have drawn a fair few their way. Obadiah ran off that way to help them out, as we were mainly dealing with the eastern front.”
Shaggy waved a hand at the empty room. “Did he take all the civs with him?”
“Nope, they are in our new basement. Safely tucked away for now.”
“Smart.” Shaggy said, raising an eyebrow. “Beginnings of your new dungeon?”
Vlad scoffed dramatically. “It’s a start.”
“Alright, sounds like we are pointing ourselves east and tearing shit up!” Shaggy shouted, trying to rouse his still worried looking pack.
Vick got his legs under him as Rita helped Cekrass stand. Sybil was trying to wake Tom up as Vick stated.
“You be careful, boss. I’ll keep you covered as best I can.”
“I know you will, Vick. The rest of you help where you can. Tell Tom when you get him up.” Shaggy turned to the front door again as Sybil reached for the table’s half-empty water jug.
Tom’s irate shouting was drowned out as Shaggy waved a hand at Vlad and Leslie and moved toward the front door again. This time he was alone and he could feel it. It was an odd sensation the game seemed to force on him. It felt wrong, but a quick shake of his head and the feeling was gone. They had torn up a bunch of robots, but he was still a beast without them. Although he did briefly wonder: What would they all be like if the pack was larger? Or even if they were all Werewolves? The thought made him smile as he walked through the door again, this time without his pack.